This invention is provided in conjunction with Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/156,802 filed Sep. 30, 1999.
Currently the Law Enforcement Agencies do not have a database for stolen items or assets, much less a single national or global database. A police report is taken and filed which includes information pertaining to the stolen assets. If the reporting party has the serial number, the serial number is distributed on a teletype. A majority of smaller sized stolen items (cameras, jewelry, musical instruments, tools, firearms, etc.) are dispersed through pawn shops. Pawn shops are required to report all items taken in by using a method such as one commonly referred to as “Pawn Track”. Pawn dealers are not provided a database of stolen or missing assets which they can use to determine the proper ownership of assets prior to accepting them for pawn. The recovery of stolen items distributed through pawn shops is low. Once a pawn broker fronts money for an item, if the item is determined to be stolen, the victim is required to pay the pawn broker the amount the pawn broker fronted. The current process places the recovery in a post-mortem position. The current situation present a grim picture for recovery and return of stolen or missing items.
The internet/world wide web provides a vast medium for providing information and interactions between individuals. The internet has the capability to present multimediums, including but not limited to photographs, drawings, text, video, and audio. The internet allows anyone to disseminate information immediately providing real time access for the world to view. The internet provides for free or low cost distribution of information. A user can view the information on a display, download the information to a computing device, and print the information. Computers and the internet provide a variety of methods for searching through large data bases in a expeditious manner.
Public accessible internet terminals are being placed, whereby a user may access the internet using methods similar to a public or pay telephone.
Wireless media technology provides access to the internet and will continue to advance to provide more methods to access this distribution media. These advances will allow users to access the internet from virtually anywhere at anytime.
Flea Markets and Pawn shops provide an easy outlet to distribute goods. Pawn shops are somewhat regulated and required to provide lists of received items as described above. Flea Markets are not regulated and particularly difficult to police for stolen goods, as are other unregulated outlets such as art shows, gun shows, outdoor sporting good shows, hobby shows, or other exhibitions. These unregulated sales outlets present opportunities for persons to distributed goods with unknown backgrounds.
There is currently no single place to advertise stolen or missing goods, fugitives, missing persons, or found items. There are several companies that utilize public records to locate persons. When a person is trying to avoid being found, the use of public records often becomes futile.
Publications, including newspapers, periodicals, and magazines are limited to a printed media, whereby the media does not provide a continuing data base as well as providing the information for a limited time period. Newspaper classified sections include a lost and found section, but no stolen goods section. The consumer is required to phone or fax in an advertisement which is placed in queue for printing and finally distributed at a later date. The newspaper advertisements are limited to text, whereby pictures would greatly enhance the recovery effort. Newspapers are also limited to the regions in which the newspaper is distributed. Printing and distribution of the newspapers is costly, utilizes natural or recycled resources, and energy.
Photographs and information related to missing persons are distributed through milk cartons or prints. Photographs and information related to fugitives are generally printed and posted at the US post office. These are generally limited to geographic regions in which authorities feel these persons may be located.
For stolen goods, the police provide a list (an example is referred to as Pawn Track) of stolen goods primarily for identification of stolen goods for Pawn shops to compare goods against. The list is dispersed weekly to police departments and Pawn shops with less frequent updates.
A television show “America's Most Wanted” illustrated the advantages of taking police wanted lists public and using the public to track the wanted persons. The show presented individual cases of wanted persons re-enacting the crime and presenting the possible paths of the fugitives.
A television show “Unsolved Mysteries” illustrates the advantages of taking missing persons or other unsolved scenarios public and using the public to resolve the unsolved scenario.
Insurance companies or individuals generally provide a reward upon the recovery of the goods.
Recovery systems, such as LoJack™ are currently available, where the user would notify the proper agency to activate a homing device located within the object.
E-commerce provides for secured purchasing of items using the internet. The internet further provides a medium for electronic auctions. These auctions may be provided in either standard or reverse formats, as provided by such companies as E-Bay and Priceline, respectively.
The internet provides an automated means whereby a web site may post a request for price quotes for a subject item and associated e-commerce businesses may bid for the sale. The internet would provide open bidding whereby the companies would be presented the details and the lowest price of the subject item.
Email provides a mechanism for electronically transferring information. Email further provides the ability to include enclosures or attachments. It is also well understood that email may be automatically generated, based upon some automated initiator.
What is desired is a means to promote lost or stolen goods whereby the method of presentation allows for the victim (individual, insurance company, or others) to promote the loss immediately and as expansively as possible, using existing media, preferably within one location or access point. A method would be desired to support potential changes to the current processes whereby the present invention would provide a mechanism for a proactive approach to increasing the risk for return and limiting the distribution of stolen assets. Alternatively, the same media, provides for an inquiring user to access the database from virtually any location using many known methods to determine the background of an item. The same may be applied to missing persons and fugitives.
Further, it is desirable to remove the unnecessary personal interface requirements to notify the insurance company, file a claim, provide a police report, and receive either the claim value, a temporary replacement, or a permanent replacement. It is desirable for the insurance company to replace the stolen or missing item at the lowest cost.